I wasn't drinking the above.
I have had a nasty cold for the second half of this week and I had two dreadful bottles of wine at the beginning of the week. It could be related?
The first was a white Bordeaux. I was tricked into buying it as the GS Supermarket near work had suddenly expanded their wine selection. It was Saint-Angel and I forget the name of the region in Bordeaux. I know it was an area close to Entre deux Mers and I found out after that it is an area noted for reasonably priced, reasonable wine. It had the wonderful phrase Cuvée Prestige on the label, which means absolutely nothing. Cuvée means vat. They are trying to tell us that this was a good batch. Which really doesn't bode well for their Vins Ordinaire or such like. Walking home I was calculating how much it would cost in Britain. I paid 14,000W which is roughly 7 quid so we are probably talking a 3 pound 50 wine. This is a dodgy supermarket though so I knocked off 51p. A 2.99 bottle then. You would have felt cheated of your 2 pounds.
I didn't do a tasting note as I pretty much just spat it out. It smelled of chemicals and rotting fruit. I did wonder if it was corked but there was none of the musty, damp smell you would expect. It tasted as dreadful as it smelled. Off-dry chemicals with an acrid finish. A bit like drinking flat White Lightning with some added sugar. It had been a hot day and this was exactly what I didn't need.
The second bottle was from that well known wine purveyor, 7-11. The bottle was behind the counter, much like fine wine and Champagne often is. It was 14,000W and the girl working there had clearly never seen it before. It was a Chardonnay, you don't often see varietals outside of the specialist retailers, and it was from the Vins de Pays D'Oc which can be an excellent source of cheaper, good quality wines. The nose was ok, had some nice ripe melon and green apple. It was nice and simple and fruity. It just did not convert to the palate unfortunately. It was all out of balance with, again, a real chemical quality. A shame really, to get a decent white from the local 7-11 would feel like a step forward. Especially if the price could come in at sub 10,000. This is probably as good an indication as any of where the Korean market is at right now(Probably another post for another day).
To add insult to injury I missed the Seoul Wine Market last weekend. Advertising? Website? Not that I could find. That will teach me to live out in the sticks I guess.
This weekend I will buy some good wine. I will try to stay true to buying an American wine. I hope to go to Aligote in Gangnam, which is reputed to have the biggest wine list in Korea.
I will have a good week.
I have had a nasty cold for the second half of this week and I had two dreadful bottles of wine at the beginning of the week. It could be related?
The first was a white Bordeaux. I was tricked into buying it as the GS Supermarket near work had suddenly expanded their wine selection. It was Saint-Angel and I forget the name of the region in Bordeaux. I know it was an area close to Entre deux Mers and I found out after that it is an area noted for reasonably priced, reasonable wine. It had the wonderful phrase Cuvée Prestige on the label, which means absolutely nothing. Cuvée means vat. They are trying to tell us that this was a good batch. Which really doesn't bode well for their Vins Ordinaire or such like. Walking home I was calculating how much it would cost in Britain. I paid 14,000W which is roughly 7 quid so we are probably talking a 3 pound 50 wine. This is a dodgy supermarket though so I knocked off 51p. A 2.99 bottle then. You would have felt cheated of your 2 pounds.
I didn't do a tasting note as I pretty much just spat it out. It smelled of chemicals and rotting fruit. I did wonder if it was corked but there was none of the musty, damp smell you would expect. It tasted as dreadful as it smelled. Off-dry chemicals with an acrid finish. A bit like drinking flat White Lightning with some added sugar. It had been a hot day and this was exactly what I didn't need.
The second bottle was from that well known wine purveyor, 7-11. The bottle was behind the counter, much like fine wine and Champagne often is. It was 14,000W and the girl working there had clearly never seen it before. It was a Chardonnay, you don't often see varietals outside of the specialist retailers, and it was from the Vins de Pays D'Oc which can be an excellent source of cheaper, good quality wines. The nose was ok, had some nice ripe melon and green apple. It was nice and simple and fruity. It just did not convert to the palate unfortunately. It was all out of balance with, again, a real chemical quality. A shame really, to get a decent white from the local 7-11 would feel like a step forward. Especially if the price could come in at sub 10,000. This is probably as good an indication as any of where the Korean market is at right now(Probably another post for another day).
To add insult to injury I missed the Seoul Wine Market last weekend. Advertising? Website? Not that I could find. That will teach me to live out in the sticks I guess.
This weekend I will buy some good wine. I will try to stay true to buying an American wine. I hope to go to Aligote in Gangnam, which is reputed to have the biggest wine list in Korea.
I will have a good week.
2 comments:
No kidding about the Wine market!!! I mean, WTF?!? How are people supposed to know about it if they don't advertise? I just happened to drive by it in a taxi coming home from costco. Woulda gotten out but I had stuff in need of a freezer.
hey squirrel, have you seen the Selfridges Wonder Bar.......look and weep. I've got an overnighter there (as in, the smoke, not in the bar..although...) and some of us are considering a jaunt there. Tee Hee. Wasted on a philistine like me, eh?
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